Ten Thousand Lies Read Online Free

maps, framed weapons of indeterminate age—that sort of shite.
    Deo stood next to a desk overflowing with crap, scanning the place for escape routes and evidence of who these people were. Ronen was next to me, staring at Rex. Xanthe and who I presumed to be her father laid Rex on the couch on his left side.
    “Does he need to go to the hospital?” the man asked.
    “Yes. The sooner, the better,” replied Deo, causing a shiver to work its way down my spine.
    Unfortunately, my oldest friend knew of such things.
    “He was raped,” said Ronen.
    Rex moaned in pain and humiliation.
    “What?” screeched Xanthe.
    “By who?” asked the man.
    “Doesn’t matter. He’s dead,” I replied.
    The man looked at me again, his eyes a cold gray behind the lenses of his glasses. He wasn’t shocked by that statement, another thing I found odd.
    “What happened? How…” asked Xanthe. She knelt beside Rex, cradling his head to her chest.
    “His father sold him to mine to settle a debt,” I replied, still held captive by the man’s gaze. “We were too late.”
    “What the fuck ?” Xanthe’s arms tightened around Rex. “Dad—”
    “Cool it, Xanthe,” he said.
    Xanthe’s face went smooth, emotionless.
    “So, what’s the son of The Godwin doing, bringing home a raped kid?”
    Xanthe gasped. “ The Godwin?” Glancing at her father again, her face went blank once more.
    What a weird fucking pair they are.
    “I’m James,” I told her. “Jamey. Since you obviously know who I am, you think you could tell me your name?” I asked, turning back to Xanthe’s father.
    “It’s David Malcolm,” answered Deo. He held up some mail, giving it a wave toward Rex. “He should be started on antivirals as soon as possible.” Then, he asked, “Is anyone else here?”
    “Deo…” I said.
    He pointed at a photo on one of the shelves. Three people were in it—one of them David and the young girl must have been Xanthe. The woman was missing from the home.
    “No,” said Xanthe softly.
    “Who is that?” Deo asked.
    “My dead wife,” replied David.
    Ronen and I looked at each other with the same expression on our faces.
    Can’t fucking take Deo anywhere.
    Deo was blunt, but his questioning was for everyone’s safety. I just hoped David understood that.
    “Look,” I said, “we don’t have much time to give you the full rundown, but we’re not the bad guys. My father has his hands in some sick shit, and what he had planned for Rex…we couldn’t let it happen.”
    “And what did happen to Rex is never going to leave him,” stated Ronen. “Rex knows what we’re doing. We’re trying to put a stop to human trafficking. He wants in. We helped him off his old man, and in return, he’s promised to join us—”
    “I’m sorry but over my dead bloody body,” said David fiercely.
    “That can be arranged,” said Deo.
    “Shut it,” I snapped at everyone. “Rex killed his rapist, and then we took him to kill his father,” I explained to David. “You don’t come back from that sort of shit. We need him, and he’s going to need us.”
    “You did that?” whispered Xanthe to Rex.
    There was an unmistakable note of awe in her voice. Glancing at her, I saw the same pride in her eyes that I had felt myself for the kid.
    “How’d you do it?” she asked.
    “Xanthe,” said David in a warning tone.
    She looked up at him, and he shook his head.
    “He couldn’t get away with it,” said Rex through clenched teeth. “David…they’re right. I need them. There’s no going back from what I did, and I can’t let this happen to other people. I’m joining their cause—”
    “David,” I said, “we need as many people as we can get with us. What we’re up against is…fucking terrifying. We don’t want to put you or your daughter in any danger—”
    “A little late, don’t you think?”
    “ I did this,” rasped Rex. “I put you in danger. I didn’t even think…” He sniffed and buried his head into